Hey guys I was hoping someone might be able to help me with a problem that just developed over the weekend.
I've attached a link so you can see an example of what I mean. The first picture is correct but the rest are all off... Instead of the background being blown out like normal it's creating a cartoon-like affect which is driving me crazy!
I shot 2 games this weekend and with each game it looks like the issue got progressively worse has anyone seen this before? Is it my camera or the lens? Any help is appreciated, Thanks

I went back and looked at the originals (before lightroom) and they all still have that cartoon/oil painting type of look. The saturation and lighting only made it more visible. I also looked back through some older stuff and in those the background was blown out correctly without issue.

ENPPhotography wrote:
The first picture is correct but the rest are all off... Instead of the background being blown out like normal it's creating a cartoon-like affect which is driving me crazy!
Phil

The remaining 3 shots all have fencing or bleachers in the background. It looks to me like you're seeing artifacts in the bokeh from those straight lines/patterns. Change your shooting location so you don't have fencing in the background.

And I should add that it looks like the Clarity is cranked in the last shot judging by the halos in the shadow regions - boosting clarity multiplies the mechanical/artifact look in the bokeh.

Oh, and one last observation... I noticed that the bokeh balls right next to the head of the running back in the last shot has the chain link pattern within the hightlights. That tells me that there are two different chain link fences layered in the shot which just compounds the problem.

From the samples that you posted, Phil, it just looks like a background issue. If you're not sure, just do some shooting in your yard or at a park where you don't have fencing/bleachers in the background, and compare results.

It's caused by heat waves coming off the turf. Nothing you can do about it. Sometimes you will even get "dandelions" from specular highlights, which are really annoying. The effect will vanish as the sun gets lower in the sky and comes in at a more oblique angle.

You can try to shoot closer to the subjects, e.g., from the sidelines rather than from the end lines if you find it affecting your subjects. The closer you get to the subject, the fewer the heat waves between you and your subject. Unfortunately, that won't help the backgrounds. Shooting backlit, if possible, will also minimize it.

I agree they're over saturated, but that's personal preference. I'm curious about your post processing? These look like you've run a high pass/topaz/contrastmaster/etc. filter crossed with some sharpening. If you post a couple unprocessed pics we can probably troubleshoot your problem.